ELP post – narrative techniques, point of view and perspective
English 15 sept ELP post –
- Skim re-read the slideshow (slides 1-18 with links to 2 activities), and write a short ELP response to the following prompt:
- How has your understanding of narrative technique, point of view and perspective developed / deepened so far?
- Refer to last year’s texts and the passages we’ve looked at (about the student and teacher, the 6 prose snippets, the story Dressing for the Carnival) to underpin and illustrate your thinking
point of view affects the reliability of the narration. where first person gives us a personal, emotional insight into the characters mind, third person offers a sort of objectivity that
lots of other factors account for perspective. Like the experience of the reader/viewer will affect how a text is interpreted, and even more so when the author intends to place us in a certain perspective, with certain assumptions. Perspective requires context and background to fully understand the intention of the author.
This plays an important role in how audiences perceive the text, because both point of view and perspective work together in positioning the audience to sympathize with/or show lack of sympathy to certain characters. We saw this in the prose extracts, where changing the points of view
changing the perspectives of the characters also added another layer of meaning, as it invites us to make assumptions about the characters. For one version in the students first person point of view, we might be
how point of view
free indirect discourse
allows the voice of the narrator and the character to blend. eg. the prose snippet about the man having an affair. Although the man has a very smug tone/feeling of triumph, the narrator’s mocking tone also shines through. This allows the reader to come to the conclusion that the man is simply stupid.
free indirect speech – the pram scene, indirect reportage of what the boss was saying. we question why not use the punctuation? In this case it makes sure the focus is on the one character (the lady)
why not use first person? Beyond
why would a narrator not want to express the character’s feelings? (why use external reportage?)
poets + ?trademark? points of view/perspectives?
is it the same story if narrated differently?
external reportage – possible effects?
how is perspective created in drama?
crist62302@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg • September 15, 2020
Kate Levy September 24, 2020 - 1:13 pm
It’s always fascinating seeing notes and getting a peek into someone’s brain. Your notes suggest you had so many things to say you had to get the beginnings of each down before you could see them through. These will be useful revision prompts in future (assuming you can complete the incomplete once prompted!)